‘Smarter, faster and safer.’ Why Georgia firms are embracing virtual reality.
Credit: Illustration: Philip Robibero/AJC
Picture this: you work in a warehouse and need to bring a part to the other side of the building. The floor of the warehouse is marked with pedestrian pathways for safety, but you see a shortcut and decide to take it — without looking both ways.
Suddenly, the perspective flips and through a headset you see the image of your virtual avatar struck by a passing forklift. Thankfully, nobody is actually hurt. This was all a virtual reality simulation for workplace pedestrian safety training.
“Having that immediate visual representation of what negative can happen if you don’t follow these rules … is definitely making an impact when it comes to people reducing injuries on the job,” said Annie Eaton, CEO of Futurus, the VR production company that made this simulation.
Georgians across many industries are using virtual reality in a variety of ways to improve training, enhance safety and reduce costs.
“Immersive tech is helping companies work smarter, faster and safer,” said Adam Kornuth, Atlanta chapter president and global generative artificial intelligence co-chair for the Virtual Reality Augmented Reality Association.
Credit: Courtesy(Futurus)
Practical applications
Researchers at the University of Georgia created VR Co-Lab to train recycling employees to work with robots to disassemble electronics without damaging materials or getting injured.
“Humans can’t get hurt in a virtual environment,” said Beiwen Li, study author and associate professor in UGA’s College of Engineering.
While working with robots can ease complex tasks, training employees to become comfortable with the machines can be time consuming and difficult, according to Li.
VR Co-Lab tracks how long the task takes and how many mistakes are made, providing feedback to help workers adjust to the movements of the robot arm.
Credit: Michael E. Kanell
“The VR environment is providing a more immersive experience,” Li said. “It is typically much better than just having the workers just read the manuals.”
Li knows there is vast potential for VR-based training, something companies like Futurus are already embracing.
Futurus is an Atlanta-based VR production company that specializes in creating simulated training content for experiences that are costly, unsafe or hard to teach without hands-on experience.
According to Eaton, common benefits include increased retention of the material, increased efficiency and decreased training time.
Futurus has worked with multiple companies, including designing 3D models for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s latest hospital campus, simulating deicing training for Delta Air Lines employees to allow year-round practice and creating a multiplayer classroom for employees of candy maker Mars Wrigley to become familiar with machinery.
Georgia-Pacific also uses VR designed by Futurus to train employees on safety protocols, such as what to do near forklifts in a warehouse.
“Within that space, the experience is designed to provide the employee with a sense of unease when necessary,” a news release from Georgia-Pacific said. “It allows the person to experience a ‘bad day’ in a safe environment and develop muscle memory on important safety steps they might otherwise have to read about or wait to do once they’re on the job.”
Other common benefits of VR include decreased costs and better, data-informed decision making, Kornuth said.
“There is so much opportunity for all kinds of training to happen in virtual environments,” said Maribeth Gandy Coleman, research director of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Institute for People and Technology.
Georgia Tech, which recently joined the ranks of the virtual reality association’s 60,000 members across 50 chapters, has a long history of VR research.
Manufacturers were among the first to embrace this technology and are still among the most frequent users, according to Coleman.
Eaton said sectors with clear and high returns on investment, such as manufacturing, seem to be leading the charge.
“There’s just a lot of opportunity, whether it is machine operator training, maintenance and troubleshooting training or just general safety,” Eaton said.
Both Eaton and Coleman emphasized that good VR design is more than just looks. Talking to subject matter experts to ensure everything is accurate to real-life functionality is paramount, especially for training to be effective.
“You don’t just build a cool-looking virtual environment,” Coleman said. “What does the person need to learn, what are the key skills? Just floating around a virtual environment, you’re not going to learn anything.”
About the Author
Allison Mawn joined the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as an intern for the business desk for summer 2025. She graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in journalism and economics, and will return for a master's. Mawn has prior experience at The Red & Black and 11Alive, as well as in breaking news, local news, editing and digital media.
